The say sorry game

MARCH 13 — Malaysians are learning a new political game- The Apology Game. The apologiser- in- chief is of course Najib Razak. He has said sorry for those undefined Umno wrongs. Maybe he is sorry he couldn’t plug the gaping hole that allowed RM 1.3 trillion to leave the country. Crooks associated with Umno embezzled money belonging to this country. Its financial mayhem. Saying sorry is sufficient.

Sources of regret

Maybe he is also sorry for the endless list of financial scandals that were caused by Umno. He is sorry for dismembering up the iconic MAS. He is sorry, for destroying the future of Felda. 5 years from now, when Felda doesn’t have the funds to manage and operate the 112,000 settlers in the Felda schemes, the government steps in making up for the loss in revenue. What was the cause of the loss in revenue in the first place?

The ravenous appetite of Umno politician businessmen.

The BN government was stupid enough to agree to the FGV listing because the FGV CEO promises the larger portion of the IPO profits to the PM department and a portion of that profits earned by Felda will be used to pay the sudden windfall. The PMO and the unsuspecting settlers share the same standard- both forfeit long term interests for short term one.

The opposition told the truth.

That means what the opposition has been telling is the truth. That Umno has been a real rogue. The truth is Umno has buggered and sodomised the Malay race. And pilfered the nation.

The sorry game of Shahrizat

Enter Shahrizat. She is also sorry but her regret takes a different form. Her apology is acted out in the form of sacrificing herself by announcing her resignation from the cabinet. That will make her out as a victim of some nebulous plot hatched by the opposition led by Rafizi Ramli and the PKR lady leader, Zuraidah.

2 months ago, the Oracle told me it was a done deal — Najib has a written note that Shahrizat will go. Maybe Najib secured a promise from Shahrizat to quit and he jotted down her promise in writing.

A little melodrama for political effects.

In the meantime, for public consumption a little drama for the desired political effects is good. Shahrizat was not actually planning to resign. Why should she, when her colleagues are also plundering the nation? Her mistake was not being clever enough to disguise the thievery that took place within NFC. Her colleagues demanded her head not because RM 50 million or so was siphoned or how the RM 250-million grant was used- they wanted her kicked out for being not clever at concealing the plundering. She did not pay attention in classroom, when they were taught the Art of the Steal.

It is just a shameless game

But know this. To the BN people, saying sorry is just a game. The game starts when someone on the “other side” says or does something that might conceivably offend (though of course it never really does offend). Umno and BN people have everything except honour and scruples.

What did the other side do? In this case, Rafizi Ramli and his gang unearthed the many shenanigans that took place in NFC. The NFC- National Feedlot Corporation was granted a 250 million grant at 2 per cent interest to import cattle and beef up the cattle rearing industry. Instead, the family of Shahrizat used the funds for non-related businesses such as buying high end condominiums, office buildings, expensive cars and paying astronomical salaries to directors. About these condominiums, Shahrizat claimed ignorance and innocence- though the interior designers whom she engaged will tell you, every minutia of details have to be screened by her such as what bulbs and curtains to use. Yet, she says, she has nothing to do with the extra mural activities of NFC.

The shameless reponse

Shahrizat’s response: publicly claim mortal offence — this secures your position as a victim — and then very publicly demand sympathy. What she did privately with the connivance of family members, she now wants to make public. It’s the same game all UMNO people play – privatise the profits, make public bear the gult.

She will resign her post if Wan Azizah resigned hers , though how Wan Azizah is connected to the case in point baffled everyone except the Umno herds grazing the pastures of PWTC. I though Umno will not repeat this inanity, yet Ahmad Maslan just did by linking Wan Azizah to Shahrizat’s refusal to relinquish her wanita Umno post. The MCA has a porn actor as president, Wanita Umno has a person who has nothing to do with what went on in NFC other that going to bed with its CEO. How can she be involved?

Did she send the wanita baju kurung?

Shahrizat when a step farther- she sends the Umno baju kurung uniform to Rafizi and threatened to sue Rafizi and gang. Whether she actually sent them, we don’t know. She made quite a spectacle when she rolled up the sleeves of her baju kurung- Pakatan naughty boys were actually waiting for her to do an Elizabeth Wong. The blogger Tukar Tiub has made public his regret and said how sorry he is, for not being able to see Shahrizat’s more daring revelation.

She has suffered mortal offence hasn’t she? Then rope in the media and the new media. When the media machinery becomes engaged — which is essential to her publicity success — then the various reporters and commentators will pile on, supporting her demand, as the politically correct victim, for an apology and punishment for the offending party. If we were to ask Ibrahim Ali, he would suggest that Rafizi be hanged.

She has been mortally wounded, she is nothing except the woman to the man she goes to bed with. She has nothing to do with his business dealings.

She overlooked one thing. The media supporting her is an opportunist band of brothers- they will continue covering the “issue,” they’ll pressure the offending party until he or she caves in and issues an apology. Then the media will decide if the apology is sufficiently sincere — the media may require several rounds of apologies before these arbiters of PC finally accept it.

But if the offending party stands its ground, the opportunistic media practitioners will be ready to do an about turn. Shahrizat feigned anger and combative stance during the Umno GA. She issued challenges and threats. She even tried to widen her defense by alluding to the real possibilities that her colleagues in the party are guilty of even bigger financial thievery. She does all that not because she was offended. She played the game because demanding an apology and feigning the victim, generates as much media coverage as possible. Why? Because if the offending party caves in and public sympathy swells as a result of media massaging, the whole melodrama will prove you are stronger and more powerful than your opponent.

You see, that is already happening. Umno leaders line up like peons, praising Shahrizat. — http://sakmongkol.blogspot.com/

Have we not seen it all.
All sorts of stunts and tricks…thought out and performed.
Here say sorry…there make sure all road shows by Anwar are disrupted….with UMNO b loud speakers blasting out nonsense…..just next to Anwar’s venue.
It happened in Johore twice and now in Bachang,..Malacca.
That’s Najib leadership and slogans ..at its best.

“There is nothing to step down from as she is legally no longer a minister on April 8. She is not resigning on April 8, it is just that her senatorship expires that day and her ministerial post automatically lapses.”

Calling Shahrizat’s quit announcement as a “sham of a statement”, Rafidah said resigning meant Shahrizat should quit immediately – while she was still a senator. “So, really there is no sacrifice as it was a natural sequence of events”

Politicians are entrusted high public office because of trust of voters whose mandate and consent permit them to take charge of matters for the good of nation and all. Just like directors of a company they have a fiduciary duty to do right for the company and shareholders. However just like many a company director, so many a ruling politician (anywhere including and especially ere) tends to abuse his position, rent seek and embezzle the common moneys for private gain. It stems from avaricious human nature: everyone can justify their rent seeking and ‘stealing’ by pointing to someone else amongst the privileged group who is rent seeking/stealing more. The rationale goes simply like this – “I know enormous harm done to the whole and nation by rent seeking and corruption amongst our group and tends to get overlooked by us individually because we don’t see the cumulative consequences of individual actions. But what to do? Individually I can’t change the situation alone. If I don’t abuse and take advantage (whilst I can), it does not mean others will, by power of my example, stop. They’d say I am stupid not to do so in one short life, take the one chance & opportunity whilst I can do so and make hay while sunshine.. Yes the Opposition complains and criticises. Of course they would. They too want to win voters trust, get voted in, sit in our position, and then do exactly the same as us when they’re in power to do so. Politics is anywhere the art of deceiving the people by stealing their monies under the guise of taking care of them. One of the ways to deceive is to give a meaningless political apology for mistakes unspecified; the other way is to offer a sacrificial lamb the ones amongst us who unfortunately occasionally got caught and in the interest of not exposing the racket, has to be showcased to maintain the masquerade of good governance and to assuage public anger and prevent it from being directed to rest of us. Life goes on”.

Why dont we rakyat just yell like when we were kids , “SORRY NO CURE!!!”. It is like a bad neighbor who diligently steal your rambutan year in year out, eat it, and then say sorry. And still have the nerve to publicly show godly devotion and pray for forgiveness.

Najib goes around Selangor and tells voters to re-instate BN. No hint of apology here. No remorse. Just the usual “lu tolong gua, gua tolong lu” mantra. No mention of corruption under Mike Tyson or the Toyol. If we vote for clowns like these again, there must be something really wrong with this country !